Tennessee Amateur and Youth Hockey Team Spotlight: October 2008

Tennessee Amateur and Youth Hockey Team Spotlight

October 2008: Team South 2008 Champs - Black Team

Team South, hosted by the SAHA Affiliate of USA Hockey, is a regional development program that brings together youth ice hockey players (boys and girls) ages 9 to 11 from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee to develop hockey skills through competitive play.

At the end of the regular hockey season, Team South sets up try-outs in March and then divides kids from different areas of the south for competition into 4 teams based on ability. These 4 teams have one weekend practice and then meet for the Team South Tournament. This past May the Team South Tournament was held at the Point Mallard Ice Complex in Decatur, AL.

Noteworthy to highlight is that all the kids come together in a short amount of time to prepare for the tournament. With the help of their talented volunteer SAHA area coaches, the Team South Black Team truly came together and was titled Champions of the tournament. Even more impressive is that these young players learned a valuable lesson in sportsmanship. Team South players learn very quickly that their teammates may have been players that they played against throughout the regular season and that everyone must work together to achieve a common goal. Visit Southern Amateur Hockey Association for more information.

The Preds Tennessee Team Spotlight for October was submitted by Theresa Matthews whose son played on the Team South Black Team.